"We Trust And Serve The Triune God"

Sermonettes on Matthew 28:18-20

Weekend of June 7, 1998

Saint Mark's, Watertown

Pastor Karl Walther

Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Sermonette #1 -- The Triune God Is The Only True God

Dear fellow Christians:

Our lives are filled with knowledge, and our lives are filled with relationships.

It's important for us to have knowledge of some basic skills-- from tying our shoes to brushing our teeth. It's important for us to have knowledge of some school-type subjects-- everything from arithmetic to zoology. It's important for us to have knowledge of some professional skills -- maybe it's an ability to operate a computer, maybe it's an ability to run a business. Our knowledge is important to us.

But no knowledge is as important as knowledge of the true God.

Our relationships are important, too. Our relationship to our parents is important to us. Our relationship to our brothers and sisters is important to us. Our relationship to our spouses is important to us. Our relationship to our children is important to us. So is our relationship to classmates and coworkers, relatives and friends, neighbors and acquaintances.

But no relationship is as important as a relationship to the true God.

So, who is the true God?

Well, thousands of years ago, every little nation had its little god. The Moabites had their god Chemosh. The Ammonites had their god Molech. The Philistines had their wheat-god Dagon. The Canaanites had their fertility-god Baal. Some nations had many gods. Greece had Zeus and Hermes and Astarte. Rome had Jupiter, Mars, Venus and all the rest.

In contrast to all those little idols, the true God revealed himself in the Old Testament's great creed -- Deuteronomy chapter six, verse four -- "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one."

These days, though, most civilizations seem to agree that there's only one God. The Jews call theirs Jehovah. The Moslems call theirs Allah. The Buddhists have their Buddha. And the Hindus think that everything is their God.

In contrast to all that falsehood, the true God reveals himself in the words I read earlier. He reveals himself: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You notice: that's still one God. It's one name. It doesn't say names. It's one name-- singular, and one God-- singular. But that one God is three-- three persons, we say: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Friends, that's your God. Do you know how I know that that's your God? When you were baptized, you were baptized in his name: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And when you take someone's name, that means you become a part of his family.

That means that God the Father is now your father. The way a father is the source of life for his child, God the Father is the source of life for you-- and it's real life, eternal life. The way a father provides for his child, God the Father provides for you-- and he's got all of heaven and all of earth at his disposal. God the Father is now your father.

And God the Son is now your big brother. The way a big brother steps in on the playground to protect his little brother or his little sister-- that's the way Jesus steps in to protect you. When sin threatened to stick to you, Jesus took the sickness of sin upon himself and died from it. When death threatened to drown you, Jesus underwent the deathly silence of the sepulcher to free you. When Satan threatened to defeat you, Jesus defeated him, by his triumphant resurrection from the grave. God the Son is now your big brother.

And God the Spirit is now your Spirit-- the Spirit who lives in you. He causes you to trust the true and triune God. He causes you more and more to resemble the true and triune God-- in holiness personally and in love toward others. God the Spirit is now your Spirit.

That, then, is the only true God. Knowing him is the only knowledge that really matters. And a relationship to him is the only relationship that really matters.

Amen.

Sermonette #2 -- The Triune God Wants Us Disciples To Make Disciples

Earlier we read that the Triune God is the only true God. He's the God we trust and serve; that makes us disciples of his. That true and triune God has also given us disciples of his a mission in life: to disciple others for him.

That's what Jesus himself said to his apostles in his Great Commission. We read it earlier: "Go, literally, 'journey'-- Journey and make disciples of all nations-- and the emphasis there is on the non-Jewish nations, the Gentile nations. How do disciples of the Triune God disciple all nations? It's a two-step process: first of all, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and secondly, teaching them to obey -- to guard -- everything I have commanded you."

You see, that's the Triune God's mission for your life-- whether you're a child or an adult, a single person or a married person, a student, a housewife, an employee, or a retiree. Disciple of God, disciple others for God-- by baptizing them in the name of the Triune God, and by teaching them everything about the Triune God.

That means, first of all, that you yourself have to be learning about the Triune God. It means you've got to be reading your Bibles-- maybe a chapter a day, maybe the selections in the bulletin, maybe by way of the "Meditations", or maybe by reading your kids a Bible story each day. Your learning about the Triune God means that you've got to be in church-- singing his praise, hearing his word, praying to him, receiving the sacrament, and identifying yourself as belonging to him. There's a good chance that your learning about the Triune God involves some sort of Bible school or Bible classes, too.

And then, you need to teach others everything about the Triune God. And how in the world do you do that? Well, it's probably by befriending others and by speaking with others from a Christian perspective. For example, some terrible crime occurs and makes the national news and everyone at work is talking about it-- and you comment that sort of crime is exactly what we'd expect in a world full of sinners, desperately needing Jesus to reconcile them to God. Or a friend of yours is undergoing the trauma of a broken relationship or the death of someone near and dear-- and you encourage her to think that even when things look darkest, the way they did for Christ on the cross, God is winning great victories, eternal victories, on behalf of his people.

That's how you yourself teach others everything about the Triune God. However, God has commissioned you to teach all nations all things about the Triune God. And how in the world do you do all that? Well, that's where the money you give to missions comes in. You yourself probably can't up and leave and go to Russia or India or Malawi or Brazil to tell others about their Savior Jesus. But with the money you give to missions, you enable others to do that. It makes the money that you generously and joyously give to missions some of the best money you've ever spent. And if you haven't been giving much money to missions -- there's a box on the church envelopes every Sunday -- well, you'll want to start.

After all, that's the way the Triune God wants us disciples to make disciples of all nations.

Amen.

Sermonette #3 -- The Triune God Promises His Power And Presence

So, the Triune God wants us disciples of his to make disciples for him from all nations.

What a daunting task! With skills and school and work and weariness, with parents and siblings and spouses and children and others to care for, where are we going to get the energy and resources to do all that?

Fellow Christians, Jesus begins by saying: "All authority -- all power -- both in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go!" "I'm almighty! I'm all powerful! So, you have the responsibility to obey me. And you have the ability to obey me." That's what Jesus is saying.

And fellow Christians, Jesus concludes by saying: "Surely I am with you always -- but it's not always in the original language; it's all the days -- Surely I am with you day after day after day after day to the very end of the age." "On the sunny summer days I am with you-- to make disciples of all nations! On the gloomy winter days I am with you -- to make disciples of all nations. On your healthy happy days I am with you-- to make disciples of all nations! On your sick and sad days I am with you-- to make disciples of all nations." That's what Jesus is saying.

So, my friends, the Triune God promises his power and his presence, enabling us disciples to make disciples. But these also encourage us disciples to make disciples. To think: that Jesus has all power in heaven and on earth, and that he orchestrates every event for our benefit-- this encourages us to work for him all the while we can. And to think: that Jesus is present with us always, never leaving or forsaking us-- this encourages to work for him all the while we can.

After all, nothing else really, really matters.

Amen.